Detailed Ecological Information Research Articles

Cymbella liangyanlingii sp. nov. (Bacillariophyta, Cymbellaceae), a new diatom species from the upper tributary of Liujiang River, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China

Cymbella liangyanlingii sp. nov. was collected from epilithic samples in the Liujiang River, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to describe the morphology of the new species, and in addition we provided detailed ecological information about this species. C. liangyanlingii sp. nov. has the features that assign it to the genus Cymbella, including the terminal raphe fissures deflected toward dorsal margin, apical pore fields present at each end on the valve and, for most taxa in the genus, one or more stigmata on the ventral side of the central area. The key diagnostic features that easily distinguish the new species from other similar species: 1) the inconspicuous central area, 2) three slit-like stigmata on the ventral margin, 3) the striae have no interruption on the valve margin, and 4) striae that are mostly uniseriate in the middle and biseriate (5–7) in the ends. This combination of features distinguishes C. liangyanlingii sp. nov. from congers such as C. liyangensis, C. distalebiseriata, C. alexandrovichii and C. hubeiensis. These findings can help us further understand the morphological and ecological information of the genus Cymbella in China.

The dispersal patterns of a migratory insect are driven by biotic interactions

AbstractAimThe distribution of a species in an area depends on the presence of suitable climatic conditions, suitable biotic interactions and species dispersal capabilities. Studies of species migration usually do not include all these factors due to a lack of detailed ecological information or appropriate methods. Here, we present simulations that consider all those factors for the study of the migratory patterns of Urania boisduvalii by incorporating environmental suitability, biotic interactions with its host plants (Omphalea spp.), and the moth dispersal capacity.LocationCuba.TaxonUrania and Omphalea.MethodsOur approach considers changes in the palatability of plants resulting from foraging by moths, as the novel mechanism driving their dispersal. Here, the state of each cell is determined by climate, dispersal, presence of edible food plants and change in food plant palatability.ResultsUrania dispersal occurs among sites with both edible food plants and suitable climates within the dispersal capacity of the moths. The number of isolated clusters of suitable patches decreased with larger dispersal capacities. All simulations where the palatability recovery is faster than palatability loss, lead to an oscillatory pattern of a local nature, while the other ones lead to a steady occupancy or extirpation of the moth species.Main ConclusionsOur results provide theoretical support for the hypothesis that the palatability of food plants drives the pattern of movement of the moths and predict that the relationship between toxic and non‐toxic periods is critical to determining steady occupancy, oscillatory occupancy or extirpation of the moth from the host plant patches. The conceptual framework we used is directly based on classic literature and the methods we used are implemented as an R package. Therefore, our approach is suited to model, in a practical way, invasive species, emerging diseases or migratory species.

Sellaphora tanghongquii sp. nov. (Bacillariophyta, Sellaphoraceae), a new diatom species from the Southern China

Sellaphora tanghongquii sp. nov. is described from epilithic samples taken from river systems in Southern China. The morphology of the new species is described based on light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and detailed ecological information is provided. This species has diagnostic features consistent with the genus Sellaphora, including small and linear valves, undulate and filiform raphe, and the presence of internal hymenate occlusions. Compared to morphologically similar species, we found that the new species is the most similar to S. constrictum in valve size and outline, raphe structure, and the external arrangement of the striae. However, S. tanghongquii sp. nov. has the following outstanding features which distinguish from similar species: 1) the valve striae are uniseriate externally and biseriate internally, 2) the shape of areolae are mostly square to elliptical, partly round, oval or irregularly shaped, composed of 2–4 small holes inside externally and round, elliptical, C-shaped, or irregularly shaped internally, 3) undulate valves with a slight constriction near the central portion of the valve, and 4) the presence of a row of separated and small pores on the valve mantle. The species appears to be best assigned to the group of species with axial grooves, which includes the generitype of Sellaphora. The discovery of this new diatom species increases the known biodiversity of the southern regions in China.

Instability of remote sensing ecological index and its optimisation for time frequency and scale

Evaluating regional ecological environmental quality (EEQ) using remote sensing is important for achieving sustainable development. The remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) is a typical EEQ evaluation model used to comprehensively reflect regional ecological quality. However, owing to its complete dependence on remote sensing image information, the RSEI also has inherent issues, including unstable time series and inconsistent resolutions of its four sub-indices. To address these problems, this study used the Google Earth Engine (GEE) to propose an optimisation notion for the harmonic analysis of time series (HANTS) coupled random forest (RF) model and determined the accuracy and image quality of the optimised RSEI (RSEIo) for the Yangtze River Basin (YRB). Based on the findings, HANTS could fill the gaps in the images, effectively reducing the noise and discrete degrees of the four indices and thereby improving the stability of the RSEI. The correlation coefficient (R) between the RSEI and RSEIo was 0.93, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.13, indicating that RSEIo is reliable. The image quality assessment (based on contrast and information entropy) indicates that HANTS combined with the RF model can produce RSEIo images with higher definitions and richer information at a constant spatial resolution. Further, the pixel-by-pixel coefficient of variation evaluation indicates that the RSEIo image was highly stabilised, yielding higher numbers of effective RSEIo images without changing the temporal resolution. Compared with traditional RSEI calculations, the optimisation proposal herein could highlight ecological differences caused by topographic changes in the YRB, which would produce an RSEI closer to actual surface conditions. Further, this proposed method could be used to obtain more detailed ecological information at a constant spatiotemporal resolution, thereby meeting the needs of long-term ecological monitoring in large-scale regions.

Ecological insights into a charismatic bird using different citizen science approaches

AbstractCitizen science projects provide valuable ecological data owing to their capacity to collect a wide variety of data at scales that would be difficult to achieve through traditional methods. A trade‐off exists between the complexity of data collected and participation, with projects typically falling into a continuum between documenting the presence of species at a location, through to the collection of detailed ecological data using complex protocols. Researchers must balance an approach that suits their aims with maximising participation. However, the ability of different citizen science approaches to collected detailed ecological data for a target species is poorly understood. We compared the number of participants and amount of data collected from the three projects to explore different citizen science approaches for focal species research. We examine data for the Australian brush‐turkey (Alectura lathami) from two open survey citizen science projects and one focal species project: iNaturalist, eBird and BrushTurkeys. Over a period of 18 months, eBird recorded the greatest number of participants (n = 1861) and presence records of brush‐turkeys (n = 17810). Across the three projects participation varied significantly with an average of 1.95 (range = 1–65), 9.6 (range = 1–389) and 4.7 (range = 1–331) reports per citizen scientist, respectively. The targeted BrushTurkeys project collected specific ecological data including counts, sex and behaviours in a higher proportion of sightings and recorded the largest number of nest mound reports compared with eBird and iNaturalist. We confirm that engaging an active group of participants produced the largest amount of data (eBird), including reports per participant. Ecologically, the most detailed information on habitat use and behaviours came from the focal citizen science project (BrushTurkeys). We conclude that seeking opportunities to grow and actively engage existing citizen science communities to report more detailed ecological information is likely to produce more detailed and informative data set.

Detection of Potential Vernal Pools on the Canadian Shield (Ontario) Using Object-Based Image Analysis in Combination with Machine Learning

Vernal pools are small, temporary, forested wetlands of ecological importance with a high sensitivity to changing climate and land-use patterns. These ecosystems are under considerable development pressure in southeastern Georgian Bay, where mapping techniques are required to inform wise land-use decisions. Our mapping approach combines common machine learning techniques [random forest, support vector machines (SVMs)] with object-based image analysis. Using multispectral image segmentation on high-resolution orthoimagery, we first created objects and assigned classes based on field collected data. We then supplied machine learning algorithms with data from freely available sources (Ontario orthoimagery and Sentinel 2) and tested accuracy on a reserved dataset. We achieved producer’s accuracies of 85 and 79% and user’s accuracies of 78 and 84% for random forest and SVMs models, respectively. Difficulty differentiating between small, dark shadows and small, obscured pools accounted for many of the omission and commission errors. Our automated approach of vernal pool classification provides a relatively accurate, consistent, and fast mapping strategy compared to manual photointerpretation. Our models can be applied on a regional basis to help verify the locations of pools in an area of Ontario that is in critical need of more detailed ecological information.

The genetic structure and mating system of a recovered Chinese pangolin population (Manis pentadactyla Linnaeus, 1758) as inferred by microsatellite markers

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammalian species in the world and have recently been transferred from Appendix II to Appendix I in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), due to poaching and international population decline. Given their principally solitary, elusive, and typically nocturnal behaviours, detailed ecological information is lacking. An understanding of their genetic structure and mating system is required to provide effective conservation strategies for the remaining wild populations. In this study, we assessed the discrimination power of microsatellites. We subsequently evaluated the genetic diversity and mating system of a restored Chinese pangolin population (Manis pentadactyla) inhabiting the southern Coastal Mountain Range, Taiwan. A total of 54 pangolins (29 males and 25 females) were captured between 2009 and 2013 within a 10 km2 area and genotyped using ten microsatellite markers. The cumulative probabilities of identifying unrelated individuals and siblings in these microsatellites were 1.83 × 10−7 and 1.01 × 10−3, respectively, indicating that these markers can be applied to population genetics, parentage, and forensics studies. A low level of genetic diversity and heterozygote deficiency were observed, which is likely due to over-exploitation, and harvesting for use in leather between 1950 and 1980. Bottleneck analysis also revealed that the population had experienced a demographic bottleneck. Mantel tests for isolation-by-distance, revealed a non-significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances for all individuals (R = 0.04, P = 0.24). The mating system analysis showed that Chinese pangolins are primarily polygynous and certain females exhibit a lack in mate fidelity. We also observed that female pangolins can reproduce during consecutive years. Our first-ever observations of a Chinese pangolin population have substantially contributed to the development of effective conservation strategies and restorative actions in Chinese pangolin populations.

Rapid evolution of leaf physiology in an introduced beach daisy.

Photosynthesis is a key biological process. However, we know little about whether plants change their photosynthetic strategy when introduced to a new range. We located the most likely source population for the South African beach daisy Arctotheca populifolia introduced to Australia in the 1930s, and ran a common-garden experiment measuring 10 physiological and morphological leaf traits associated with photosynthesis. Based on predictions from theory, and higher rainfall in the introduced range, we hypothesized that introduced plants would have a (i) higher photosynthetic rate, (ii) lower water-use efficiency (WUE) and (iii) higher nitrogen-use efficiency. However, we found that introduced A. populifolia had a lower photosynthetic rate, higher WUE and lower nitrogen-use efficiency than did plants from Arniston, South Africa. Subsequent site visits suggested that plants in Arniston may be able to access moisture on a rocky shelf, while introduced plants grow on sandy beaches where water can quickly dissipate. Our unexpected findings highlight that: (1) it is important to compare introduced species to their source population for an accurate assessment of evolutionary change; (2) rainfall is not always a suitable proxy for water availability and (3) introduced species often undergo evolutionary changes, but without detailed ecological information we may not be able to accurately predict the direction of these changes.

Life history and ecology of the elegant snake-eyed skink (Cryptoblepharus pulcher) in south-eastern Australia

Detailed information on life history and ecology is essential for successful conservation and management. However, we have relatively little detailed data on the life history and ecology of most small lizard species, relative to other vertebrates, especially those that have undergone recent taxonomic changes. We studied the ecology of the elegant snake-eyed skink (Cryptoblepharus pulcher), a lizard that occurs on trees, fences, walls, and rock outcroppings in eastern Australia that spans temperate to tropical environments. In our temperate-zone study population living in natural habitat, individuals are active year-round, and gravid females were found during the months of September through December. Sexual maturity is reached in 12 months, lifespan is at least three years, and clutch size is typically two eggs. In laboratory incubation experiments, larger eggs were more likely to hatch. Low incubation temperatures (averaging 23 ± 7.5°C versus high temperatures averaging 26 ± 7.5°C) increased incubation duration significantly (range 56–72 days versus 40–51 days) and reduced the body size of hatchlings significantly (17.8 mm versus 18.7 mm snout–vent length). Skinks sheltered beneath small rocks that were not shared simultaneously with predatory snakes, and that reached average temperatures that were up to 3°C warmer during the day than unused rocks. Preferred microhabitats include substrates of rock or soil, and the largest rocks were occasionally shared by up to four individuals of all body size/sex combinations (5.8% of observations were shared, 30.2% of individual rocks were shared). Our study expands upon knowledge of the widespread genus Cryptoblepharus by providing detailed life history and ecological information on C. pulcher that can serve as a baseline for future studies.

Sampling estuarine copepods at different scales and resolutions: a study in Rio de la Plata

AbstractIn the Rio de la Plata salinity, temperature, chlorophyll a (chl a), and densities (ind. m−3) of the copepods Acartia tonsa and Paracalanus parvus were measured from January to November in 2003 by following a nested weekly and monthly design. Such sampling yielded two separate datasets: (i) Yearly Dataset (YD) which consists of data of one sampling effort per month for 11 consecutive months, and (ii) Seasonal Weekly Datasets (SWD) which consists of data of one sampling effort per week of any four consecutive weeks within each season. YD was assumed as a medium-term low-resolution (MTLR) dataset, and SWD as a short-term high-resolution (STHR) dataset. The hypothesis was, the SWD would always capture (shorter scales generally captures more noise in data) more detail variability of copepod populations (quantified through the regression relationships between temporal changes of salinity, temperature, chl a and copepod densities) than the YD. Analysis of both YD and SWD found that A. tonsa density was neither affected by seasonal cycles, nor temporal variability of salinity, temperature and chl a. Thus, compared to STHR sampling, MTLR sampling did not yield any further information of the variability of population densities of the perennial copepod A. tonsa. Analysis of SWD found that during summer and autumn the population densities of P. parvus had a significant positive relationship to salinity but their density was limited by higher chl a concentration; analysis of YD could not yield such detailed ecological information. That hints the effectiveness of STHR sampling over MTLR sampling in capturing details of the variability of population densities of a seasonal copepod species. Considering the institutional resource limitations (e.g. lack of long-term funding, manpower and infrastructure) and the present hypothesis under consideration, the authors suggest that a STHR sampling may provide useful complementary information to interpret results of longer-term natural changes occurring in estuaries.

Assessing distribution and conservation potential for the Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) in Argentina

The Muscovy duck ( Cairina moschata , Anatidae) is a waterbird with a wide distribution in America, reaching Argentina at its southernmost limit, where the species was categorized as threatened. In this study, we develop a species distribution model to analyze habitat suitability for the species in Argentina and assess its potential for geographic conservation in the country. Results show that northern Argentina offers environmentally suitable habitats for the species. At present, the Muscovy duck is not adequately protected in Argentina and although a quarter of its suitable habitat has already been lost due to human-induced changes in land-cover, the country still has a conservation potential since we have detected suitable habitats inside protected areas, where the species has not been previously recorded, and the species dependence on water lines offer additional conservation opportunities. We suggest carrying out conservation actions outside the current system of protected areas, in areas with high habitat suitability, and along water lines, involving private owners in conservation actions. There is also a need for further field research to confirm the duck’s presence in the potential areas and to reveal more detailed ecological information about its habitat needs. Keywords: suitable habitat, potential distribution models, waterbirds, threatened birds, anatidae, MaxEnt.

Late Smithian microbial deposits and their lateral marine fossiliferous limestones (Early Triassic, Hurricane Cliffs, Utah, USA)

Recurrent microbialite proliferations during the Early Triassic are usually explained by ecological relaxation and abnormal oceanic conditions. Most Early Triassic microbialites are described as single or multiple lithological units without detailed ecological information about lateral and coeval fossiliferous deposits. Exposed rocks along Workman Wash in the Hurricane Cliffs (southwestern Utah, USA) provide an opportunity to reconstruct the spatial relationships of late Smithian microbialites with adjacent and contemporaneous fossiliferous sediments. Microbialites deposited in an intertidal to subtidal interior platform are intercalated between inner tidal flat dolosiltstones and subtidal bioturbated fossiliferous limestones. Facies variations along these fossiliferous deposits and microbialites can be traced laterally over a few hundreds of meters. Preserved organisms reflect a moderately diversified assemblage, contemporaneous to the microbialite formation. The presence of such a fauna, including some stenohaline organisms (echinoderms), indicates that the development of these late Smithian microbial deposits occurred in normal-marine waters as a simple facies belt subject to relative sea-level changes. Based on this case study, the proliferation of microbialites cannot be considered as direct evidence for presumed harsh environmental conditions.

THE STUDY OF RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN TERRAIN AND THE SPECTRAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ECOSYSTEMS IN UKRAINIAN CARPATHIANS USING REMOTE SENSING SATELLITE DATA

Ukrainian Carpathians like many other mountainous areas possess significant ecological and societal values, thus requiring careful spatial management. This in its turn requires the careful consideration of relations between abiotic conditions and various ecosystem properties. While detailed spatial databases of these conditions and properties are still lacking for many regions, currently available remote sensing satellite data are the indispensable source of the spatially distributed detailed ecological information. Digital elevation models and multispectral images are especially useful for the acquisition of detailed, up-to-date and cheap spatial data on ecological factors and conditions. In this study the modern statistical methods of principal component analysis and the canonical correlation analysis have been applied to reveal the structure in the relationships between land surface reflectance values in different wavelength ranges and to investigate the relationships between the revealed image principal components and the set of topographic characteristic and indexes for the study area in Ukrainian Carpathians. Principal component analysis of LANDSAT 7 ETM+ image bands allowed to isolate three independent spatial components that together reveal the structure in the relationships between the land surface reflectance values in different spectral channels. Canonical correlation analysis allowed to discern two main canonical roots, proving the existence of rather strong relationships between the land surface morphometry and its spectral characteristics. The most important terrain factor that influences the land and vegetation cover structure appeared to be the elevation, while the other significant factors included a set of topographic characteristics and indices. Key words: remotely sensed imagery, digital elevation models, topographic variables, principal component analysis, canonical analysis, Ukrainian Carpathians.

Jungle Giants: Assessing Sustainable Harvesting in a Difficult-to-Survey Species (Python reticulatus).

Sustainability of wildlife harvests is critical but difficult to assess. Evaluations of sustainability typically combine modelling with the measurement of underlying abundances. For many taxa harvested in developing countries, however, abundances are near-impossible to survey and a lack of detailed ecological information impedes the reliability of models. In such cases, repeated surveys of the attributes of harvested individuals may provide more robust information on sustainability. If the numbers, sizes and other demographic attributes of animals taken for the commercial trade do not change over biologically significant time intervals (decades), there is a prima facie case that the harvest is indeed sustainable. Here, we report the results of examinations of > 4,200 reticulated pythons (Python reticulatus) taken for the commercial leather industry in northern and southern Sumatra, Indonesia. The numbers, mean body sizes, clutch sizes, sizes at maturity and proportion of giant specimens have not decreased between our first surveys (1995) and repeat surveys (2015). Thus, despite assumptions to the contrary, the harvest appears to be sustainable. We use our data to inform the design of future monitoring programs for this species. Our study underpins the need for robust science to inform wildlife trade policy and decision-making, and urges wildlife managers to assess sustainability of difficult-to-survey terrestrial wildlife by drawing inferences directly from the harvest itself.

Genetic Dissection of Dual Roles for the Transcription Factor six7 in Photoreceptor Development and Patterning in Zebrafish.

The visual system of a particular species is highly adapted to convey detailed ecological and behavioral information essential for survival. The consequences of structural mutations of opsins upon spectral sensitivity and environmental adaptation have been studied in great detail, but lacking is knowledge of the potential influence of alterations in gene regulatory networks upon the diversity of cone subtypes and the variation in the ratio of rods and cones observed in numerous diurnal and nocturnal species. Exploiting photoreceptor patterning in cone-dominated zebrafish, we uncovered two independent mechanisms by which the sine oculis homeobox homolog 7 (six7) regulates photoreceptor development. In a genetic screen, we isolated the lots-of-rods-junior (ljrp23ahub) mutation that resulted in an increased number and uniform distribution of rods in otherwise normal appearing larvae. Sequence analysis, genome editing using TALENs and knockdown strategies confirm ljrp23ahub as a hypomorphic allele of six7, a teleost orthologue of six3, with known roles in forebrain patterning and expression of opsins. Based on the lack of predicted protein-coding changes and a deletion of a conserved element upstream of the transcription start site, a cis-regulatory mutation is proposed as the basis of the reduced expression of six7 in ljrp23ahub. Comparison of the phenotypes of the hypomorphic and knock-out alleles provides evidence of two independent roles in photoreceptor development. EdU and PH3 labeling show that the increase in rod number is associated with extended mitosis of photoreceptor progenitors, and TUNEL suggests that the lack of green-sensitive cones is the result of cell death of the cone precursor. These data add six7 to the small but growing list of essential genes for specification and patterning of photoreceptors in non-mammalian vertebrates, and highlight alterations in transcriptional regulation as a potential source of photoreceptor variation across species.

Integrating Landsat pixel composites and change metrics with lidar plots to predictively map forest structure and aboveground biomass in Saskatchewan, Canada

Forest inventory and monitoring programs are needed to provide timely, spatially complete (i.e. mapped), and verifiable information to support forest management, policy formulation, and reporting obligations. Satellite images, in particular data from the Landsat Thematic Mapper and Enhanced Thematic Mapper (TM/ETM +) sensors, are often integrated with field plots from forest inventory programs, leveraging the complete spatial coverage of imagery with detailed ecological information from a sample of plots to spatially model forest conditions and resources. However, in remote and unmanaged areas such as Canada's northern forests, financial and logistic constraints can severely limit the availability of inventory plot data. Additionally, Landsat spectral information has known limitations for characterizing vertical vegetation structure and biomass; while clouds, snow, and short growing seasons can limit development of large area image mosaics that are spectrally and phenologically consistent across space and time. In this study we predict and map forest structure and aboveground biomass over 37 million ha of forestland in Saskatchewan, Canada. We utilize lidar plots—observations of forest structure collected from airborne discrete-return lidar transects acquired in 2010—as a surrogate for traditional field and photo plots. Mapped explanatory data included Tasseled Cap indices and multi-temporal change metrics derived from Landsat TM/ETM + pixel-based image composites. Maps of forest structure and total aboveground biomass were created using a Random Forest (RF) implementation of Nearest Neighbor (NN) imputation. The imputation model had moderate to high plot-level accuracy across all forest attributes (R2 values of 0.42–0.69), as well as reasonable attribute predictions and error estimates (for example, canopy cover above 2 m on validation plots averaged 35.77%, with an RMSE of 13.45%, while unsystematic and systematic agreement coefficients (ACuns and ACsys) had values of 0.63 and 0.97 respectively). Additionally, forest attributes displayed consistent trends in relation to the time since and magnitude of wildfires, indicating model predictions captured the dominant ecological patterns and processes in these forests. Acknowledging methodological and conceptual challenges based upon the use of lidar plots from transects, this study demonstrates that using lidar plots and pixel compositing in imputation mapping can provide forest inventory and monitoring information for regions lacking ongoing or up-to-date field data collection programs.

Change in trade wind inversion frequency implicated in the decline of an alpine plant

Detailed assessments of species responses to climate change are uncommon, owing to the limited nature of most ecological and local climate data sets. Exceptions, such as the case of the Haleakalā silversword, can provide important insights into the complexity of biological responses to changing climate conditions. We present a time series of decadal population censuses, combined with a pair of early population projections, which together span the past 80 years of demographic history for this alpine plant. The time series suggests a strong population recovery from the 1930s through the 1980s, likely owing at least in part to management actions taken on its behalf. In contrast, the population is estimated to have suffered a decline of approximately 60 % since the early 1990s. Fine-scale estimates of rainfall within silversword habitat are strongly correlated with these decadal-scale population changes over the past 50 years, with rainfall estimated to be substantially lower on average during the two most recent inter-census periods (after 1991). The reversal in the silversword population trajectory, and declines in rainfall in silversword habitat, coincide with an abrupt increase in the frequency of occurrence of the trade wind inversion (TWI) in Hawaiʻi around 1990. The shift in TWI incidence, which is linked to stronger subsidence in the Hadley circulation, has led to drier conditions in high elevation ecosystems in Hawaiʻi and appears to be eliciting ecological responses. Other regions influenced by the TWI could be similarly affected. The silversword case study reveals additional unexpected outcomes, such as the likely initial retraction from wetter, rather than drier, portions of the range in response to drying conditions. This pattern may stem in part from variation in drought tolerance across the range, highlighting the importance of detailed ecological and climatic information for making accurate predictions about climate change responses.

Testing Dragonflies as Species Richness Indicators in a Fragmented Subtropical Atlantic Forest Environment.

We surveyed 15 bodies of water among remnants of the Atlantic Forest biome in southern Brazil for adult dragonflies and damselflies to test whether an empirical selection method for diversity indicators could be applied in a subtropical ecosystem, where limited ecological knowledge on species level is available. We found a regional species pool of 34 species distributed in a nested subset pattern with a mean of 11.2 species per locality. There was a pronounced difference in species composition between spring, summer, and autumn, but no differences in species numbers between seasons. Two species, Homeoura chelifera (Selys) and Ischnura capreolus (Hagen), were the strongest candidates for regional diversity indicators, being found only at species-rich localities in our surveyed area and likewise in an undisturbed national forest reserve, serving as a reference site for the Atlantic Forest. Using our selection method, we found it possible to obtain a tentative list of diversity indicators without having detailed ecological information of each species, providing a reference site is available for comparison. The method thus allows for indicator species to be selected in blanco from taxonomic groups that are little known. We hence argue that Odonata can already be incorporated in ongoing assessment programs in the Neotropics, which would also increase the ecological knowledge of the group and allow extrapolation to other taxa.

Discordant patterns of genetic and phenotypic differentiation in five grasshopper species codistributed across a microreserve network.

Conservation plans can be greatly improved when information on the evolutionary and demographic consequences of habitat fragmentation is available for several codistributed species. Here, we study spatial patterns of phenotypic and genetic variation among five grasshopper species that are codistributed across a network of microreserves but show remarkable differences in dispersal-related morphology (body size and wing length), degree of habitat specialization and extent of fragmentation of their respective habitats in the study region. In particular, we tested the hypothesis that species with preferences for highly fragmented microhabitats show stronger genetic and phenotypic structure than codistributed generalist taxa inhabiting a continuous matrix of suitable habitat. We also hypothesized a higher resemblance of spatial patterns of genetic and phenotypic variability among species that have experienced a higher degree of habitat fragmentation due to their more similar responses to the parallel large-scale destruction of their natural habitats. In partial agreement with our first hypothesis, we found that genetic structure, but not phenotypic differentiation, was higher in species linked to highly fragmented habitats. We did not find support for congruent patterns of phenotypic and genetic variability among any studied species, indicating that they show idiosyncratic evolutionary trajectories and distinctive demographic responses to habitat fragmentation across a common landscape. This suggests that conservation practices in networks of protected areas require detailed ecological and evolutionary information on target species to focus management efforts on those taxa that are more sensitive to the effects of habitat fragmentation.

Gastrodia huapingensis (Orchidaceae: Epidendroideae: Gastrodieae): a remarkable new mycoheterotrophic orchid with dimorphic columns from China

The orchid genus Gastrodia Brown (1810: 330) comprises approximately 50 species with a broad Old World distribution (Pridgeon et al. 2005, Cribb et al. 2010, Kenji 2014). Currently, there are at least 20 accepted species of Gastrodia recorded from China (Chung & Hsu 2006, Chen et al. 2009, Hsu & Kuo 2010, 2011, Yeh et al. 2011, Hsu et al. 2012, Tan et al. 2012, Hu et al. 2014). During our field surveys of Chinese traditional medicine in Huaping National Nature Reserve, Guangxi Zhuangzu Autonomous Region, China, a Gastrodia was spotted setting fruit in the past few years. Finally, we were able to observe it flowering in August 2014. After careful comparison morphological study with its close relatives (Averyanov & Efimov 2006) and three other species of Gastrodia recorded in Guangxi, namely Gastrodia damingshanensis A.Q.Hu & T.C.Hsu (2014: 256), Gastrodia elata Blume (1856: 174) and Gastrodia menghaiensis Z.H.Tsi & S.C.Chen (1994: 559), we confirmed this Gastrodia as a new species and thereby a new member to the flora of Guangxi. A detailed description, illustration and ecological information are presented below. We also discuss the remarkable dimorphic columns of this new species, which are documented in Gastrodia for the first time.